OBJECTIVETo investigate the validity of hepatic resection as a treatment option for hepatic parenchymal metastasis in patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer.

METHODSA retrospective review of the clinicopathological and follow up data of 39 patients treated in our hospital from 1996 to 2008 was conducted.

RESULTSTen patients underwent partial hepatic resection for metastatic ovarian cancer. All the 10 patients underwent surgery were with unilobar metastasis and the number of tumors was lower than 3(P < 0.05). No significant difference existed in patient age, the primary pathology type and tumor grade, the rate of optimal primary cytoreductive surgery, the disease free survival after the primary therapy and the serum CA125 level at the liver metastasis when compared with the 29 patients accepted salvage chemotherapy (P > 0.05). There were 7 patients who achieved optional surgery. The operation complication was 3/10 and there was no perioperative mortality. There were 2 patients without postoperative chemotherapy in the 8 recurrent patients with microscopic negative margins. The median recurrence time was 12 (5 - 24) months after the hepatic resection. The overall median survival periods after hepatic metastasis were 26 and 9 months and the 3-years cumulative survival rates were 60.0% and 16.8% for the optimal surgery patients including hepatic surgery and the salvage chemotherapy patients, respectively (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONHepatic resection for liver metastatic epithelial ovarian cancer is safe and may achieve long-term survival in patients after optimal second cytoreductive surgery.